Red Cross embraces challenges

The Red Cross Society of China is coordinating with an international oversight body as it builds a modern, humanitarian organization and bids farewell to the turbulence of its recent past.

The society came under fire last year after a young woman, claiming to be a society official, wrote a micro blog boasting about her lavish lifestyle and flaunting her wealth. It caused a huge public backlash.

“Despite the fact that it was pure fantasy, the society’s image suffered. But it also showed that we needed reform to become more open and transparent,” Zhao Baige, executive vice-president of the society, said at a forum on Saturday attended by Red Cross societies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The society is working with the oversight group, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to achieve globally recognized certification, Zhao said.

Self-development, work implementation, resource mobilization and supervision, will all be under scrutiny and will be expected to meet certain standards, according to Tadateru Konoe, federation president.

China’s growing global clout means that the public have a right to expect the best from the society, he said.

The society set an excellent example by coordinating with the federation, Zhao said.